My grandson Micah recently turned 5, and like all 5-year-olds he’s a creative genius. For instance, last week as his daddy worked hard pressure-washing the driveway and house, Micah watched carefully. Within minutes of Adam rounding the corner toward the back yard, Micah was playing on the clean driveway, admiring its fresh, bright-white appearance.
Maybe it was the rejuvenated contrast of concrete and joints, but Micah quickly came up with a new idea. After running to a neighboring empty lot and uprooting a fistful of weeds, he planted them (dirt, roots, and all) in the driveway cracks. Though he’d never done that before, pressure-washing day seemed the perfect time to smear dirt into the clean concrete.
His wise father saw this but didn’t chide his son. Surely, though, he was disappointed. Couldn’t it have stayed clean for even an hour?
I asked Micah, “So, what’s that you’re doing there?”
“I’m planting a garden, and I’m going to jump over it.”
When he was finished, he brought a big red bouncy ball from the garage and proceeded to jump high enough to clear the foot-tall plants. Back and forth he jumped, till he was flushed with the effort. We cheered him on, snapped photos, and praised his high energy.
* * * * *
Occasionally the parenting years include work that must be re-done and messes that are completely unnecessary. Actually, not just occasionally. Often.
Raising kids is a ton of work and isn’t for the faint of heart. But the interesting thing is that when we feel “stretched to the breaking point,” we usually don’t break. Instead we discover there’s always a bit more stretch left.
Where does it come from? No doubt from God. More than likely it’s him showing up in response to our prayerful calls for help.
When God gives us a big assignment (such as raising children), he doesn’t do it without offering the tools to do it well. As young parents parent, he is parenting them. And no loving parent would ask his children to do something he knows they can’t do.
It’s also true that God-as-Parent wants to be in on every “stretchy” parenting project. He offers to give moms and dads “more stretch” whenever they need it and then hopes they’ll take advantage of his offer. When they ask, he delivers.
As for Micah’s driveway garden, after he’d moved on to another project, Grandma Midgee plucked up his weeds, brushed away the dirt, and found that the bright-white driveway was none the worse for wear.
“The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are.” (Psalm 103:13-14)
Thank you! I loved this account! Oh the wisdom of the parents! What a blessing to their children to be able to stop and think before reacting. This was not always one of my strong suites.
One ‘ah ha’ moment for me that was pivotal in my parenting style was so like this account. The Lord literally blocked my normal response was when my twins were about 4. We did not have a dishwasher so I was teaching them to help by drying the dishes. I turned to see one of them putting the spoon in her mouth and then placing it in the drawer. My inward initial reaction was to cry out ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’. No young mother needs more work handed to her. But God’s wisdom prevailed and I asked ‘what are you doing?’. The logic was so simple, she could not tell the difference between a large spoon or teaspoon, thus her mouth became her guide. I learned more that day than she did. Oh that we would all watch more, listen better and react less.